BARCELONA: coach Ernesto Valverde has dismissed reports suggesting Neymar could leave Paris Saint-Germain and return to the Catalan giant as “fantasy.”
In the same week that PSG crashed out of the Champions League, and only seven months after he joined the club for a world record €222 million ($264 million), Neymar´s future has grown uncertain.
Spanish sports newspaper Mundo Deportivo claims the Brazilian, recovering from surgery on a broken foot in Brazil, has made contact with Barca to ask how he can engineer a return.
The article adds Neymar has explained he made a mistake in leaving the club, was wrong to want independence from Lionel Messi and has been disappointed by the standard of opposition in Ligue 1.
Asked about the reports on Friday, Valverde said: “It seems to me a fantasy and we do not know where it came from or where it will end.
“It is a fantasy and we are not going to speak about rumors when we know it would not end here.”
Barca, however, is not the only club Neymar is reportedly targeting as a potential way out of PSG.
Madrid-based newspaper AS reports Neymar´s father has met with Real Madrid, who are ready to pay 400million euros to sign the striker.
Real coach Zinedine Zidane said on Friday: “Neymar could play in all the clubs because he is very good, like many players.
“I´m not going to talk about a player that is not mine. On the 400 million, they paid 220 million and when they bought me they paid 72.
“It seemed crazy to me and 10 years later they are paying 220 million. It may well be that in the next 10 years someone will pay 400m, or sooner, I do not know.”
Mundo Deportivo concedes Neymar´s courting of Barcelona may even be a tactic to justify a move to Real, given the Catalan club are likely to reject any chance to re-sign the 26-year-old.
Barcelona are still embroiled in a financial dispute over a bonus due to Neymar last summer, which the club canceled when they believe it became clear he was moving to PSG.
Neymar missed PSG’s last 16 loss to Real on Tuesday after undergoing surgery on a broken foot in Brazil last week.
Barcelona coach dismisses talk of Neymar returning to Camp Nou as ‘fantasy’
Barcelona coach dismisses talk of Neymar returning to Camp Nou as ‘fantasy’
Scotland Yard returns to action as JSCA Cup headlines weekend racing in Riyadh
RIYADH: Scotland Yard, winner of the 2025 Tuwaiq Cup, is set to make his seasonal debut when he tops a field of six runners for the Group 3 JSCA Cup at King Abdulaziz Racecourse on Saturday.
The SR165,000 ($44,000) feature over 1,800 meters marks the return of the Nicolas Bachalard-trained six-year-old, who enjoyed a highly successful campaign last season. Ridden once again by champion jockey Adel Al-Fouraidi, the US-bred gelding won three of his four starts, highlighted by a dominant near six-length victory on Saudi Cup weekend.
Scotland Yard faces a competitive lineup, led by the Red Stable’s Wait To Excel, runner-up in recent domestic company and eighth in the Saudi Cup. The White Stable of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz is represented by Electability, while Thamer Al-Daihani saddles Man Of The Night, with Ricardo Ferreira taking the ride.
Saturday’s supporting card features the SR150,000 Saeed Al-Majed Cup over 2,000 meters, where Lucas Gaitan’s Saudi Derby winner Al-Waqqad makes his third start of the season under Alexis Moreno. The four-year-old finished well back behind Scotland Yard in the Tuwaiq Cup last February but showed improved form when third behind Thundersquall and Wait To Excel in an open contest last month.
A large field of 15 has been declared for the SR130,000 Rashed bin A. Al-Zenaidy Award for three-year-olds over 1,200 meters. Attention is likely to focus on last season’s Sarawat Cup winner Karimi and Kawafill, who bids for a hat-trick after recent victories in Taif and Riyadh.
Friday’s action is headlined by the SR150,000 Ministry of Education Cup for juveniles over 1,400 meters, attracting 19 runners. The Red Stable fields Ela Al-Amam and Nayaad, with Ferreira aboard Ela Al-Amam, who remains unbeaten after two starts. The White Stable counters with Ma’aha Allah, twice runner-up from two appearances, and Taif debut winner Nasrak Allah.
The Friday card also includes three competitive turf races, beginning with a 1,200-meter open featuring Red Stable runner Zefzaf against French import Cacofonix. Zefzaf enjoyed a breakout season last year, winning three times and finishing second in the Turf Sprint Qualifier, and now takes on Cacofonix, a former European Listed winner recently acquired by the White Stable.
Cacofonix, a three-time winner from nine starts, was last seen finishing sixth in Group 3 company in August and changed hands for €460,000 ($543,000) in October. Later on the card, Maylan — who defeated Zefzaf in the Turf Sprint Qualifier — heads a full field in the 1,351-meter open, before attention turns to the 2,100-meter contest featuring Bolide Porto. The White Stable runner finished third on his recent return and previously held his own in the upgraded Group 1 Howden Neom Turf Cup.
Racing at King Abdulaziz Racecourse continues to gather momentum as the domestic season builds toward its marquee events.
